Babylon 5 Space Station Composite

Here is my composite image of Revell's 1/26000 scale Babylon 5 space station against the backdrop of Mars.

Images of the model can be seen here.

Spitfire VB Clipped Composite

Here is my composite image of Hasegawa's 1/32 scale Supermarine Spitfire MK VB Clipped Wing against a gold sky.

Images of the model can be seen here.

Aries 1B Composite

Here is my composite image of Lunar Models Aries 1-B from 2001 A Space Odyssey against a black sky with the Earth in the distance.

Before Atomic City came along with their Aries 1-B the Lunar Models version for many years was the only game in town as far as Aries models were concerned. Though not as detailed and as large as the Atomic City version the Lunar Models version considering its small size produces a respectable composite. As for the model itself...

Images of the model can be seen here.

ME 262 B-1A Night Fighter Composite

Here is my composite image of Revells 1/32 scale ME 262 B-1A Night Fighter taking off against an evening sky.

Images of the model can be seen here.

From Wikipedia" Several two-seat trainer variants of the Me 262, the Me 262 B-1a, had been adapted through the Umrüst-Bausatz 1 factory refit package as night fighters, complete with on-board FuG 218 Neptun high-VHF band radar, using Hirschgeweih ("stag's antlers") antennae with a set of shorter dipole elements than the Lichtenstein SN-2 had used, as the B-1a/U1 version. Serving with 10 Staffel, Nachtjagdgeschwader 11, near Berlin, these few aircraft (alongside several single-seat examples) accounted for most of the 13 Mosquitoes lost over Berlin in the first three months of 1945. However, actual intercepts were generally or entirely made using Wilde Sau methods, rather than AI radar-controlled interception. As the two-seat trainer was largely unavailable, many pilots had to make their first flight in a jet in a single-seater without an instructor.

Martian War Machine Composite

Here is my composite image of Pegasus models 1/48 scale Martian War Machine from War of the Worlds being discovered by one of the Rovers on Mars. Yes sir what NASA isn't telling you.

Images of the model can be seen here.

F-6 Mustang Composite

Here is my composite image of Dragon Model's 1/32 North American F-6 Mustang flying high over a Mountainous terrain.

Images of the model can be seen here.

Maquis Raider Composite

Here is my composite image of Monogram's Maquis Raider from Star Trek Voyager cruising past Jupiter.
I was never really a fan of the Voyager series. With the exception for the Doctor I felt the acting from the rest of the cast was mediocre at best. Plus I found it a little too PC for my tastes but the ships were cool.

Images of the model can be seen here.

JU-52 (Iron Annie) Transport Composite

Here is my composite image of Monograms 1/48 scale Junkers JU-52 transport flying past a foggy winter mountain hillside.

Images of the model can be seen here.

seaQuest DSV Composite

Here is my composite image of Monograms seaQuest DSV from the TV series of the same name breaking the oceans surface.

Images of the model can be seen here.

American Nuclear Satellite Composite

Here is my composite image of my scratch built American Nuclear Satellite from 2001 a space odyssey. This is the first craft you see for about 2 seconds in the movie right after Kubrick's famous 3 million year jump cut.

Images of the model can be seen here.

Ferocious Frankie.

Here are some images of Trumpeter's 1/32 scale P-51 D Mustang IV. Ferocious Frankie was flown by Wallace Hopkins, Captain 374 FS France 1944.

From Upaero"
“Ferocious Frankie”, named in honour of his wife Frankie, coded B7 H of the 374th Fighter Squadron, 361st Fighter Group. Wallace Hopkins was born in Washington, Georgia and flew a total of 76 combat missions with the 361st where he flew as Operations Officer. He was an ACE credited with 8 victories and 1.5 damaged. His decorations include the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross both with Oak Leaf Clusters and the French Croix de Guerre, one of four awarded to members of the 361st.

A native of Washington, Georgia, “Hop” Hopkins enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1939 and a year later entered pilot school. After graduation on July 1941, he flew P-39s, P-40s, and P-47s with the 8th Pursuit Group at Mitchell Field, New York. Reassigned to the 361st Fighter Group in 1943, Major Hopkins was appointed Group Operations Officer and flew P-47D, P-51B, P-51D and P-51K aircraft on bomber escort and ground attack missions from Bottisham and little Walden in England, St Dizier, France and Chievrers, Belguim. Having been promoted to Lt. Col. In 1944, Hopkins was appointed Deputy Group Commander in April1945.

During the Korean War, Col. Hopkins served as Deputy Wing Commander, 8th Fighter Bomber Wing, flying F-80s. He retired on February 1968.

Colonel Wallace E. Hopkins, USAF (Retired), died on 26th April 1992 at the age of 74.

Victory Credits

29th May 1944	2 Fw 190’s destroyed (Air)	Vicinity Pitka, Poland
29th June 1944	4 Fw 190’s destroyed (Gnd) 1.5 Fw 109’s damaged (Gnd)	Oschersleben A/D, Germany
8th August 1944	2 Fw 190’s Destroyed (Air)	Vicinity Evreux, France

Moskito Re Post

Here are some images of Revell's 1/48 scale Focke Wulf Ta 154 "Moskito". Hailed by the propaganda ministry as Germany's Mosquito. The wooden Ta 154 had excellent performance and came very near to being a major combat type but it wasn't to be. The Tego film used to bond the wood together in earlier aircraft was satisfactory for use however after the RAF bombed the Tego film plant builders were forced to use a cold glue adhesive which proved to contain to much acid which of coarse ate away the wood, a problem that was never fully solved. So as a result the Ta 154 was never put into service.

Yamato Re Post

Here are some images of Doyusha's 1/250 scale Kure DY Yamato Battleship. With a full displacement load of 71,659 tonnes, a length of 862 ft 10 in and a armament compliment of 9 x 46 cm (18.1 in) (3×3) guns
6 × 155 mm (6.1 in) (2×3) guns
24 × 127 mm (5.0 in) guns
162 × 25 mm (0.98 in) Anti-Aircraft guns (52×3, 6×1)
4 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) AA (2×2) guns this monster was the largest battleship ever built.The Yamato (the ancient name for Japan) was sunk north of Okinawa on April 7th 1945.

From Wikipedia"

The Yamato-class battleships (大和型戦艦 Yamato-gata senkan^?) were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing 72,000 long tons (73,000 t) at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine 460-millimetre (18.1 in) naval guns, each capable of firing 2,998-pound (1,360 kg) shells over 26 miles (42 km). Two battleships of the class (Yamato and Musashi) were completed, while a third (Shinano) was converted to an aircraft carrier during construction.

Due to the threat of American submarines and aircraft carriers, both Yamato and Musashi spent the majority of their careers in naval bases at Brunei, Truk, and Kure—deploying on several occasions in response to American raids on Japanese bases—before participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, as part of Admiral Kurita's Centre Force. Musashi was sunk during the course of the battle by American carrier airplanes. Shinano was sunk ten days after her commissioning in November 1944 by the submarine USS Archer-Fish, while Yamato was sunk in April 1945 during Operation Ten-Go.

On the eve of the Allies' occupation of Japan, special-service officers of the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyed virtually all records, drawings, and photographs of or relating to the Yamato-class battleships, leaving only fragmentary records of the design characteristics and other technical matters. The destruction of these documents was so efficient that until 1948 the only known images of the Yamato and Musashi were those taken by United States Navy aircraft involved in the attacks on the two battleships. Although some additional photographs and information, from documents that were not destroyed, have come to light over the years, the loss of the majority of written records for the class has made extensive research into the Yamato-class somewhat difficult. Because of the lack of written records, information on the class largely came from interviews of Japanese officers following Japan's surrender. However, in October 1942, based upon a special request from Adolf Hitler, German Admiral Paul Wenneker, attached to the German Naval Attache in Japan, was allowed to inspect a Yamato class battleship while it was undergoing maintenance in a dockyard, at which time Admiral Wenneker cabled a detailed description of the warship to Berlin. On 22 August 1943, Erich Groner, a German Navy historian, and author of the book Die Deutschen Kriegschiffe, 1815-1945, was shown the report while at the "Führer Headquarters", and was directed to make an "interpretation" and then prepare a "design sketch drawing" of the Japanese battleship. The material was preserved by Erich Groner's wife, Mrs. H. Groner, and submitted to publishers in the 1950s.

Huey

Here are some images of Revell's 1/24 scale Bell UH-1B Iroquois gun ship as seen in the television series Tour Of Duty.
With the exception for the seat belts this kit was built SOB.

From Wikipedia"

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew on 20 October 1956. Ordered into production in March 1960, the UH-1 was the first turbine-powered helicopter to enter production for the United States military, and more than 16,000 have been produced worldwide.

The first combat operation of the UH-1 was in the service of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The original designation of HU-1 led to the helicopter's nickname of Huey. In September 1962, the designation was changed to UH-1, but Huey remained in common use. Approximately 7,000 UH-1 aircraft saw service in Vietnam.

In 1952, the Army identified a requirement for a new helicopter to serve as medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), instrument trainer and general utility aircraft. The Army determined that current helicopters were too large, underpowered, or were too complex to maintain easily. In November 1953, revised military requirements were submitted to the Department of the Army. Twenty companies submitted designs in their bid for the contract, including Bell Helicopter with the Model 204 and Kaman Aircraft with a turbine-powered version of the H-43. On 23 February 1955, the Army announced its decision, selecting Bell to build three copies of the Model 204 for evaluation, designated as the XH-40.

The HU-1A (later redesignated UH-1A) first entered service with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the 82nd Airborne Division, and the 57th Medical Detachment. Although intended for evaluation only, the Army quickly pressed the new helicopter into operational service and Hueys with the 57th Medical Detachment arrived in Vietnam in March 1962.^[13]

The UH-1 has long been a symbol of US involvement in Southeast Asia in general and Vietnam in particular, and as a result of that conflict, has become one of the world's most recognized helicopters. In Vietnam primary missions included general support, air assault, cargo transport, aeromedical evacuation, search and rescue, electronic warfare, and later, ground attack. During the conflict, the craft was upgraded, notably to a larger version based on the Model 205. This version was initially designated the UH-1D and flew operationally from 1963.

During service in the Vietnam War, the UH-1 was used for various purposes and various terms for each task abounded. UH-1s tasked with a ground attack or armed escort role were outfitted with rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and machine guns. As early as 1962, UH-1s were modified locally by the companies themselves, who fabricated their own mounting systems.These gunship UH-1s were commonly referred to as Frogs or Hogs if they carried rockets, and Cobras or simply Guns if they had guns. UH-1s tasked and configured for troop transport were often called Slicks due to an absence of weapons pods. Slicks did have door gunners, but were generally employed in the troop transport and medevac roles.

UH-1s also flew hunter-killer teams with observation helicopters, namely the Bell OH-58A Kiowa and the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse (Loach).

Towards the end of the conflict, the UH-1 was tested with TOW missiles, and two UH-1B helicopters equipped with the XM26 Armament Subsystem were deployed to help counter the 1972 Easter Invasion. USAF Lieutenant James P. Fleming piloted a UH-1F on a 26 November 1968 mission that earned him the Medal of Honor.

UH-1 troop transports were designated by Blue teams, hence the nickname for troops carried in by these Hueys as the Blues. The reconnaissance or observation teams were White teams. The attack ships were called Red teams. Over the duration of the conflict the tactics used by the military evolved and teams were mixed for more effective results. Purple teams with one or two Blue slicks dropping off the troops, while a Red attack team provided protection until the troops could defend themselves. Another highly effective team was the Pink Recon/Attack team, which offered the capability of carrying out assaults upon areas where the enemy was known to be present but could not be pinpointed.

During the course of the war, the UH-1 went through several upgrades. The UH-1A, B, and C models (short fuselage, Bell 204) and the UH-1D and H models (stretched-fuselage, Bell 205) each had improved performance and load-carrying capabilities. The UH-1B and C performed the gunship, and some of the transport, duties in the early years of the Vietnam War. UH-1B/C gunships were replaced by the new AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter from 1967 to late 1968. The increasing intensity and sophistication of NVA anti-aircraft defenses made continued use of UH-1 gunships impractical, and after Vietnam the Cobra was adopted as the Army's main attack helicopter. Devotees of the UH-1 in the gunship role cite its ability to act as an impromptu dustoff if the need arose, as well as the superior observational capabilities of the larger Huey cockpit, which allowed return fire from door gunners to the rear and sides of the aircraft.

During the war 7,013 UH-1s served in Vietnam and of these 3,305 were destroyed. In total 1,074 Huey pilots were killed, along with 1,103 other crew members.

The US Army phased out the UH-1 with the introduction of the UH-60 Black Hawk, although the Army UH-1 Residual Fleet has around 700 UH-1s that were to be retained until 2015, primarily in support of Army Aviation training at Fort Rucker and in selected Army National Guard units. Army support for the craft was intended to end in 2004. In 2009, Army National Guard retirements of the UH-1 accelerated with the introduction of the UH-72 Lakota.

HU-1B: Upgraded HU-1A, various external and rotor improvements. Redesignated UH-1B in 1962. 1014 built plus four prototypes designated YUH-1B

Catapulta Re Post

Here are some images of Corel Models 1/25 scale Catapulta. This catapult dates back to the last years of the Roman Empire where construction techniques had made great advancements from the previous Onager catapult. These types of catapults were generally used on Roman Polyreme ships and usually placed at the stern. The maximum throwing distance of these catapults was usually around 350 meters. The materials used for this model were Walnut, Brass and Copper. This was a very easy model to build, no issues.

Nimitz CVN 68 (1970's)

Here are some images of Trumpeter/White Ensign's 1/350 scale U.S.S. Nimitz.
This was a fun model although I wish that Trumpeter would have provided more aircraft. Oh well I've ordered more but they're taking forever to come in.

From Wikipedia"

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is a supercarrier in the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. She is one of the largest warships in the world. She was laid down, launched and commissioned as CVAN-68, but was redesignated CVN 68 (nuclear-powered multimission aircraft carrier) on 30 June 1975 as part of the fleet realignment of that year.

The ship was named for World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W. Nimitz, who was the Navy’s last fleet admiral. Unlike all subsequent Nimitz class carriers, Nimitz only uses her namesake's surname. She is also the first carrier of her class and the most recent supercarrier not to be named for someone who held elective office in the United States.

Nimitz was homeported at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987, when she was relocated to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. After her mid-life overhaul and nuclear reactor refueling in 2001, Nimitz was relocated to NAS North Island, in San Diego, California.

Nimitz home port was changed from the NAS North Island, to Everett, Washington. This move is expected to save the Navy $100 million.

USS Nimitz first deployed to the Mediterranean on 7 July 1976 with Carrier Air Wing 8 embarked in company with the nuclear powered cruisers USS South Carolina and USS California. In November 1976, Nimitz was awarded the Battle "E" from Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet, for being the most efficient and foremost aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Fleet. The cruise was uneventful, and the carrier returned to Norfolk, Virginia on 7 February 1977.

A second uneventful Mediterranean cruise was conducted from 1 December 1977 to 20 July 1978. The third deployment began on 10 September 1979 to the Mediterranean. The ship moved to the Indian Ocean in response to the Iran hostage crisis in which the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran was overtaken and 52 hostages were held. (During this trip, the ship took part in the shooting of the movie The Final Countdown and played a central role in the film.) After four months on station, Operation Evening Light was launched from Nimitz's decks in an attempt to rescue the U.S. Embassy staff. The mission was aborted after a helicopter crashed at a refueling point in the Iranian desert. The ship finally returned home 26 May 1980, having spent 144 days at sea.

Kommandeurwagen Re Post

Here are some images of Tamiyas 1/35 scale S.gl.Pkw. Steyr Kommandeurwagen. This was the vehicle of choice for high ranking German officers of World War 2 when out and about in the field. Originally this vehicle was designed to carry 8 passengers but to accommodate for comfort could only now carry 5 passengers. The model itself went together without any difficulty and is nicely detailed.

Red Dragon Re Post

Here are some images of Artesania Latinas 1/60 scale Chinese Junk Red Dragon. These ships plied the rivers and oceans of the far east from Singapore up the northern China.Ships like this had such a sturdy and tough workhorse like design that even to this day there are still similar examples in use. The woods used for this model were Sapelly, African Walnut, Boxwood, Applewood and of coarse Plywood.

From Wikipedia"
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages. They were found, and in lesser numbers are still found, throughout South-East Asia and India, but primarily in China, perhaps most famously in Hong Kong. Found more broadly today is a growing number of modern recreational junk-rigged sailboats.

Junks were efficient and sturdy ships that sailed long distances as early as the 2nd century AD. They incorporated numerous technical advances in sail plan and hull designs that were later adopted in Western shipbuilding.

The historian H. Warington Smyth considered the junk one of the most efficient ship designs, stating that "As an engine for carrying man and his commerce upon the high and stormy seas as well as on the vast inland waterways, it is doubtful if any class of vessel… is more suited or better adapted to its purpose than the Chinese or Indian junk, and it is certain that for flatness of sail and handiness, the Chinese rig is unsurpassed."